Weighing in at a Whopping 86 Pounds: The World’s Heaviest Turkey
As Thanksgiving approaches, home cooks across America are preparing to cook up turkeys for their holiday feasts. While the average turkey weighs between 8 to 20 pounds record-setting giant turkeys tip the scales at astonishing weights. Just how heavy can champion turkeys get? Let’s take a look at the world’s biggest turkey and how much this heavyweight bird weighs.
The Average Thanksgiving Turkey
Before getting to the behemoth bird let’s establish a baseline with the typical turkey size. According to the National Turkey Federation, the average turkey purchased for Thanksgiving usually falls between 16 and 20 pounds. Smaller turkeys in the 8 to 12 pound range are also common.
So for most families carving up a holiday bird, they are working with a turkey somewhere in the teens in terms of weight. This provides enough hearty helpings of white and dark meat to feed a crowd with leftovers.
But some turkey growers set their sights far higher than the average bird.
Introducing Tyson the Turkey
Now onto the mammoth main course – meet Tyson the turkey, who tips the scales at a whopping 86 pounds!
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Tyson holds the world record for the heaviest turkey ever recorded. This heavyweight champion was sold at auction in London in 1989, weighing in at 39.09 kg, or 86 pounds.
To put Tyson’s size into perspective, he weighs over 4 times heavier than the standard 20 pound Thanksgiving turkey. Imagine a bird big enough to feed a small army!
Tyson’s Early Life
This massive bird was raised by Philip Cook, a farmer with Leacroft Turkeys Ltd in Peterborough, England. Rather than preparing Tyson for the dinner table, Cook had set his sights on producing record-setting poultry.
Through careful breeding and feeding, Cook raised Tyson to become the biggest, heaviest turkey to walk the earth. All his hard work paid off when Tyson was officially recorded by Guinness in 1989.
Auctioned for a Good Cause
Once he achieved his record-breaking weight, Tyson was auctioned off in London for charity. This larger-than-life turkey fetched an impressive £4,400 at auction, equivalent to $6,692 US dollars at the time.
So Tyson helped set two records – one for his mammoth weight and one for the highest auction bid on a turkey ever recorded.
Why So Heavy?
You may be wondering – how did Tyson grow so massive, at over four times the size of even a very large commercial turkey?
Selective breeding is key. Cook likely used breeds like the Broad Breasted Bronze or White Holland, which can grow up to 30 pounds, and selected the biggest birds over generations.
Special feed also plays a role. Cook probably provided unlimited access to high calorie rations to pack on the pounds. The result was Tyson, a true heavyweight!
Other Outsized Birds
While Tyson holds the undisputed title, a few other massive turkeys have also made headlines over the years.
In 2020, the Mehlenbacher family in Minnesota cooked up a 74 pound whopper for Thanksgiving dinner.
Back in 1997, a Minnesota turkey named Goliath weighed in at 78 pounds.
And a New York turkey dubbed Toots tipped the scales at 86 pounds back in 1939 – not quite as large as Tyson, but an honorable mention.
The Biggest Turkey Breeds
For those looking to raise their own huge turkey, certain breeds are engineered to grow bigger and heavier.
The Broad Breasted Bronze can reach over 50 pounds.
The Broad Breasted White tops out around 40 pounds for toms (males).
The Bourbon Red grows to be about 30 pounds.
And the Narragansett can hit 35 pounds.
By selecting the biggest birds from these breeds each season, you could one day rival Tyson’s record!
The World’s Heaviest Turkey
In the end, none come close to the legendary Tyson, who remains the world’s heaviest turkey ever recorded at 86 pounds. He beat out the previous record holder by a full 2 pounds to earn his place in history.
So as you sit down to enjoy your holiday spread this season, spare a thought for giant Tyson, whose size is a true testament to the power of poultry!
NWTF World Record for Turkey with the Longest Beard
We still call them “beards” even though turkey beards don’t hang from the bird’s chin or are made of hair. As a mesofiloplume, a beard may look a lot like the tufts of hair-like bristles that can be found on some dinosaur fossils.
Beards never molt nor stop growing, but the tips wear, limiting their length. Eastern wild turkeys generally have the longest beards but long beards are found among all the subspecies. A beard grows out of a skin spot on the breast called a papilla. Turkey males and females both have papillae, but only about 10% of hens grow beards, and most of them are pretty thin.
Cody May shot an eastern tom with a beard that was 22 inches long during his second year of turkey hunting near his home in New Boston, Texas. 5 inches at the check station. By the time he had the brittle beard measured again, it had broken off to 17. 5 inches, which would have fallen short of the then-current record of 18. 125, shot in Virginia in 1998. Â However, the original measurement counted as official, giving May the new top spot.
NWTF World Record for Heaviest Turkey
The Eastern wild turkey is the heaviest of the subspecies, often weighing in excess of 25 pounds. The weather and food availability affect how big a turkey gets. Birds from farmland in the north are usually the biggest. But a big turkey can grow anywhere. Animals that live in cold places tend to get bigger than animals that live in warmer places, but big Easterns have been seen all over the world.
In 2015, David Cody Guess of Lyon County, Kentucky, killed a much bigger bird on his family farm. He had already killed a huge 28-pound bird. The gobbler weighed an astonishing 37. 6 pounds, and is the heaviest ever recorded.
How MUCH did the HEAVIEST turkey weigh?
FAQ
What is the heaviest turkey ever weighed?
What is the biggest size turkey?
What is the world record wild turkey weight?
How much does Tyson the turkey weigh?
What is the heaviest Turkey in the world?
The Guinness World Record for the heaviest turkey in all the land is actually held across the pond. According to Guinness, the World Record for the heaviest-dressed turkey has been unmatched since 1989. It goes to a gobbling gentleman named Tyson, who weighed a whopping 86 pounds.
How much does a wild turkey weigh?
The tom weighed 22 pounds and had a .9735 spur on one leg and a 1-inch spur on the other, making it the third highest-scoring turkey in the NWTF record system. 2. NWTF World Record for Heaviest Turkey The Eastern wild turkey is the heaviest of the subspecies, often weighing in excess of 25 pounds.
How much did the ‘heaviest Turkey’ cost in 1989?
It won the last annual `heaviest turkey’ competition, held in London on 12 December 1989, and was auctioned for charity for a record £4400 (then $6,692) It’s Thanksgiving time again, and we have our list of the best Guinness World Records to celebrate Turkey Day.
Was Tyson the heaviest Turkey ever recorded?
Tyson, from Peterborough in the United Kingdom, wasn’t any old bird. He was the heaviest turkey ever recorded, setting a Guinness World Record back on December 12, 1989, that has not been bettered to this day. Tyson belonged to Philip Cook of Leacroft Turkeys Limited, and was measured at a “greatest dressed weight” of 86 lbs (39 kg).
How much should a Thanksgiving turkey weigh?
It is recommended that each person receive a 1.5-pound share of the turkey. Therefore, if someone is serving eight people a Thanksgiving dinner, they should purchase a turkey that weighs between 12 and 15 pounds. However, if the party is smaller, the turkey should be smaller.
What is the largest turkey breed?
Several large turkey breeds are listed below, including weight and characteristics. The Standard Bronze turkey is one of the largest breeds, weighing 25 pounds. Breeding between European domestic turkeys and wild turkeys produced this breed, and they are often used for meat production.